Pentagon chief gathers diplomats, brass for Russia strategy talk

STUTTGART, June 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Ash
Carter said on Thursday the situation with Russia had taken a
"sad turn" and he was gathering U.S. military leaders and
diplomats to assess the effectiveness of NATO strategy toward
Moscow in response to the Ukraine crisis.

The gathering of two dozen U.S. military leaders and
ambassadors based in Europe will take place on Friday in
Stuttgart at the headquarters of U.S. European Command, which is
responsible for U.S. forces in the region, U.S. defense
officials said.

"We have something that has taken a sad turn recently, which
is Russia," Carter told troops at U.S. Africa Command, which is
also based in Stuttgart, in southern Germany.

"We were absolutely hoping for something different, but it
appears that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin is taking his
country in a different direction."

"I don't think that's a good way for Russia and at some
point the Russian people will wake up to that, but they are not
showing much sign of that now," he added. "The situation here
(in Europe) is not as rosy as it might have seemed in the past."

Carter said that's why he had traveled to Stuttgart, "to
take another look at what we are doing here."

The session will gather U.S. military leaders and
ambassadors based in Europe to discuss how effective Western
sanctions and military actions have been in deterring Russia and
reassuring NATO allies, U.S. defense officials said.

"This meeting is intended to inform the secretary's thinking
as he heads into his first NATO ministerial in late June," said
Brent Colburn, a Pentagon spokesman. "One of the areas of focus
will be Russia's actions over the past 18 months, including
their operations in Ukraine."

The Western allies have imposed asset freezes and travel
bans on a number of Russians. The United States launched
Operation Atlantic Resolve to step up military exercises with
NATO members in eastern Europe. The United States approved $1
billion to support efforts to reassure European allies.

"The  primary purpose is to assess and strategize on how
the United States and key allies should think about heightened
tensions with Russia over the past year," said a U.S. defense
official on Carter's plane to Stuttgart.

Asked if the session would discuss providing lethal weapons
to Ukraine, the official said Carter was still open to the idea
and the issue could come up. The United States so far has
resisted providing lethal arms to avoid escalating the conflict.
(Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Tom Heneghan and
Dominic Evans)